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Serve Moore {Part 1}

Thursday, June 6, 2013

I had an ideal picture of how today was going to go. I thought we would drive down to Moore, be the hands and feet of Christ, serve a specific family, and serve well.

Our plans were slightly thwarted when it was raining this morning. They pulled most of the crews off of street clean-up because of the rain. {Street clean-up was our original plan.}

So I reached out to our church. There was an opportunity for us to serve as ambassadors for families who lost everything in the tornadoes as they met with multiple agencies throughout the day. The problem was they wanted us to commit to more time than we could spend.

I called my friends who live in Moore hoping they could point me in the right direction. We were hoping to work directly with a family.

I was waiting for my friend, Jami to arrive from Kansas City. She drove down specifically for us to spend the day in Moore, and my friend Donetta was going to meet us there as well. I spent the morning praying that the Lord would use us to reach the right people in the right places.

And then I got a call from my friend, Nina who lives in Moore. She said she knew where we could serve. There was a lady from her bank who lost her home. Her children attended Briarwood elementary which was demolished by the tornado. She said they were moving today and they could use the help. I told her that we had been praying about a family that we could simply serve. And Nina assured me that she thought this was it for sure.

Great. The plan became to go help Karen and her family with their move.

So we went to Lowe's to pick up gloves and tupperware containers so we could help them pick up what could be salvaged from their home.

We show up at the rent house where they are moving, thinking that they were going to take us to the destroyed house to help. We knock on the door, introduce ourselves, and see Karen, her husband, a set of grandparents, and 2 kids sitting on the floor in an empty duplex.

Karen explains to us that they have already salvaged what they could at their home as she points to 3 tupperware containers of leftover belongings. Insurance has provided them a rental home, rental furniture, and everything they need for the time being. They were waiting on furniture to be delivered and literally had nothing for us to do.

Karen didn't need our help today. I don't know why we ended up on her doorstep. But I believe that the Lord wanted us there for some reason. For whatever reason, The Lord clearly led us to her.

And that is where the journey began......

So Jami and I continued to pray. Lord, lead us where you want us to go.

Karen told us that we should drive towards Briarwood and that there would be plenty of families there to help.

So we did that. And as we drove towards the place where Briarwood Elementary School once stood, we got our first view of the devastation. They say the pictures and the video of the damage don't really allow you to understand it, and I agree.

My mind is still trying to process all of it. When you see it in the flesh, your mind literally can't comprehend such devastation and destruction. And it goes on and on and on. It's incredibly overwhelming.

So we started looking for people who might need help.

Jami spotted a women in a blue shirt with blonde hair....that's how we identified her. She was working at a home that was still standing but would obviously have to be demolished.

We initially drove past her, but ended up turning around to see if we could help her.

We pulled into the driveway, and Jami jumped out of the car. From my vantage point, I could see Jami introduce herself, and explain why we're in her driveway, and then I saw the lady in the blue shirt with the blonde hair smile.

And as my mind was still trying to process the immense devastation around us, I watched a woman who lost her home simply smile.

And I continued to pray. Lord, if this is where we can serve, allow us to be a great service to this woman.

And then I saw the woman start pointing down the street. Jami walked back towards the Jeep, and told me that we were going to 7-Eleven.

The woman in the blue shirt with the blonde hair didn't need our help. They had already been through their home and salvaged what they could. But she informed us that there were people who were much worse off....."just go to 7-Eleven, and I'm sure you'll find someone to help there."

The woman in the blue shirt with the blonde hair didn't need our help today, but we felt led to her for some reason. I don't know if she needed to see us, or if I simply needed to see her smile before I completely broke down. I'm trusting that that is where the Lord wanted us.

So we drove.....further into the horror of it all, towards 7-Eleven just as the woman in the blue shirt instructed us to.

About that time my friend Nina calls asking about Karen. I fill her in on how Karen didn't need us after all, and we're looking for more families who need help.

As I'm talking to Nina, Jami sees a sign in the ground at 7-Eleven with the word Volunteering and a phone number. She called the number, and before I knew it, we were headed towards a church on Santa Fe.

We don't know where we're going. All we have is an address and the information that they need someone to transport a tarp.

We pull into the parking lot of this church, and I realize that we are at a Mormon church. And I'm baffled at how we ended up here. (Even though I know we were clearly led here.....Karen says go to Briarwood.....woman in the blue shirt says go to 7-Eleven.....sign at 7-Eleven says call this number....lady on the other end of the phone says come to this address....and then we're at the Mormon church).